Poultry coop unloader, and methods

Abstract

A method and apparatus for emptying a turkey coop of its cargo. A support structure, moveable along rails, is aligned with the coop. A moveable carriage, supported by the support structure, is moved into the coop and the turkeys are surrounded and contained therein. After the turkeys are contained within the moveable carriage, the moveable carriage is extracted from the coop and the turkeys move onto a conveyor belt that moves them away from the coop.

I claim:  
     
       1. An unloading apparatus for unloading poultry from a coop having a floor, the poultry positioned on the coop floor, the unloading apparatus comprising: 
       (a) a support structure comprising a frame;  
       (b) a moveable carriage comprising:  
       (i) a containment volume for retaining poultry, the containment volume defined by a carriage top, a first side wall and an opposite second side wall, a back wall, and the coop floor; and  
       (ii) the carriage constructed and arranged to be supported by the support structure and moved into and out from the support structure, and to be moved into and out from the coop.  
     
     
       2. The unloading apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a first rail and a second rail, the support structure being moveably positioned on the first and second rails. 
     
     
       3. The unloading apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the first rail is a toothed rail and the support structure comprises a toothed wheel for engaging the toothed rail. 
     
     
       4. The unloading apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first side wall is a partial side wall. 
     
     
       5. The unloading apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the back wall comprises a moveable section that is retractable to provide an access port through the back wall. 
     
     
       6. The unloading apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the moveable back wall section comprises a plurality of hinged sections. 
     
     
       7. The unloading apparatus of  claim 5 , the moveable carriage comprising a guide for facilitating movement of the moveable back wall section. 
     
     
       8. The unloading apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the frame of the support structure comprises rollers to support the moveable carriage. 
     
     
       9. The unloading apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a mechanical screw device to move the moveable carriage into and out from the coop. 
     
     
       10. The unloading apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a conveyor belt extending from the coop to the support structure, the conveyor belt configured to move poultry from the coop floor to a second conveyor belt. 
     
     
       11. A method of unloading poultry from a coop having an internal cavity, the poultry present within the internal cavity, the method comprising the steps of: 
       (a) aligning an unloading apparatus with the internal cavity of the coop, the unloading apparatus comprising a support structure and a moveable carriage configured and adapted to move within the internal cavity of the coop, the carriage having a containment volume, a portion of which is defined by a back wall having a moveable section;  
       (b) retracting the moveable back wall section to provide an access port in the back wall;  
       (c) moving the carriage into the internal cavity of the coop so that the poultry passes through the access port in the back wall and is within the containment volume of the carriage;  
       (d) closing the access port in the back wall; and  
       (e) extracting the carriage from the coop.  
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of closing the access port in the back wall comprises: 
       (a) returning the moveable back wall section to an unretracted position.  
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of extracting the carriage from the coop comprises: 
       (a) urging the poultry to move through the internal cavity of the coop.